And they ARE getting this feeling that the American’s and NATO will standby while it happens….
Unless?
They get help….
If not ‘boots on the ground’ …
Then weapons and equipment….
As of yesterday….
“Unfortunately, Ukraine needs to be objective at this stage,” said Gen. Kyrylo O. Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service. “There are not sufficient military resources for repelling a full-scale attack by Russia if it begins without the support of Western forces.”
General Budanov outlined his nightmare vision of a Russian invasion that would begin with airstrikes and rocket attacks aimed initially at ammunition depots and trench-bound troops. Very quickly, he said, the Ukrainian military would be incapacitated, its leadership unable to coordinate a defense and supply the front. After that, he said, responsibility would fall to frontline commanders to carry on the fight alone….
…
“They will hold up as long as there are bullets,” General Budanov said. “They’ll be able to use what they have in their hands, but believe me without delivery of reserves, there’s not an army in the world that can hold out.”…
…
On Wednesday, President Biden ruled out deploying U.S. forces to Ukraine to deter Russia. But there are more than 150 U.S. military advisers in Ukraine, a combination of U.S. Special Forces and National Guard, currently the Florida National Guard’s 53rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to two U.S. Defense Department officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive troop deployments. About a dozen other NATO countries also have military advisers in Ukraine now, the officials said….
…
The Biden administration has remained vague about how else it might come to Ukraine’s defense in case of invasion….
President Joe Biden on Thursday reassured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of the United States’ support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as the country steels itself for a potential invasion by Russian forces assembled along its eastern frontier.
“President Biden voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European Allies about Russia’s aggressive actions towards Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of a further military intervention,” according to a White House readout of the call, which lasted more than an hour….
More…
(But?…No troop’s…)